Natnael Gecho, an Ethiopian journalist, says he fled persecution and repeated arrests and now runs WT Media from Nairobi, where he has refugee status. He says online tools help him reach audiences; a Nairobi hub offers workspace and equipment to exiled journalists.
Gecho left Ethiopia in December 2022 after running a news platform focused on human rights and marginalized communities in Southern Ethiopia. He says Ethiopian security forces have tried to kidnap, silence and hack media; he has moved several times in Nairobi because he felt unsafe.
Baraza Media Lab’s Exile Media Hub was launched by Media in Cooperation and Transition and the International Press Association of East Africa, with German Foreign Office funding; it also provides a digital contact point for journalists outside Nairobi. Journalists covering Kenya’s recurring Gen Z protests since summer 2024 have faced attacks, tear gas and water cannons. Amnesty International says media crackdowns across the region have intensified.
